Antony and Jadon Sancho must do for Manchester United what Paul Pogba couldn't

To peruse a list of Manchester United's record signings is to realise just how much money has been squandered at Old Trafford in recent years.

The first window under Erik ten Hag set a new benchmark for one summer, at around £225million, with Antony now the second most expensive signing in the club's history. Casemiro is seventh on that list and Lisandro Martinez 11th.

But while you could look at a similar list of record buys at Manchester City and Liverpool and see a succession of success stories, that is not the case with United. The last decade is an era they would want to be written out of history when it comes to transfer business.

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You probably have to go down to eighth on the list, and the signing of Bruno Fernandes, to find a player that could be listed unquestionably as a success. Paul Pogba tops the chart but his £89million move was a disaster. The World Cup winner underperformed on the pitch and left for nothing. There is no way of sugarcoating that deal.

Two other players in the top 10 list (according to Transfermarkt) have already been and gone at United and it comes to something when Romelu Lukaku is probably the most successful of the trio. Angel Di Maria's one year at the club after signing from Real Madrid was disastrous. Lukaku at least managed two years and 42 goals before leaving for Inter Milan.

United failed to make a profit from any of Pogba, Lukaku and Di Maria, losing around £110m in total when they departed. None of them are remembered fondly. This is the challenge for United's more expensive recruits, to help rewrite a narrative that is threatening to stick to the club when it comes to spending big money.

Harry